Oakland Legalizes Large-Scale Marijuana Cultivation for Medical Use

The city of Oakland, Calif., legalized large-scale marijuana cultivation for medical use and will issue up to four permits for "industrial" cultivation starting next year. On Tuesday the city council passed a resolution after four hours of debate that pitted small-scale "garden" growers against advocates of a bigger industrial system that would become a "Silicon Valley" of pot. Oakland already taxes sales of medical marijuana, but cultivation has existed in a legal gray area. Council members plan later action to levy new taxes on growers. This measure is different from a statewide resolution (Proposition 19) to legalize marijuana for adult recreational use. Hopefully the growers won't get high on their own supply.